After reading several real-life accounts of survival at sea, I decided I wanted to experience the middle of an ocean from the perspective of a very small craft. The stories I had read from the likes of Steve Callahan and Dougal Robertson had described interactions with a wilderness environment so much more intimate than if they had passed through in any other vehicle. Their resourcesfulness and mental fortitude made me wonder how I would behave in a similar situation so far from land…Even with a background in rowing, I entered the 2009 Atlantic Rowing Race knowing that the real challenges I would face at sea would be more psychological than anything else. Following a 2 year process of boat building and fundraising I undertook the 3000 mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean, rowing in often hostile conditions. Although choosing to enter this environment, I also found my physical and mental resources tested to the limit, with large seas, sleep-deprivation, hallucinations and close encounters with container vessels being common occurences.

Following a 76-day crossing a powerful wave capsized my boat onto the Antiguan reef and I found myself in my own real life survival situation. After several failed attempts to retrieve safety equipment from inside a now waterlogged cabin I set off my emergency positioning beacon and was eventually rescued by the Antiguan Coastguard.

Photo taken during the Atlantic Rowing Race

As with many long-distance challenges, getting to the start line can be the hardest part. For a long time I put off my ambition, seeing the challenge as unachievable, and something that only rich or famous people did. There were many “straws that broke the camel’s back” but meeting other “ordinary” people who had also completed the crossing helped me to take the first step towards that start line.

Mainly though, I owe my achievement to the friends and family members who helped and supported me through the whole process. It was truly a team effort…

Best moment? Talking to my brother on the satellite phone on the last morning of the journeyWorst moment? The capsize…Strangest moment? Rowing alongside a whale for 2 hours, a thousand miles from land, while cracked up listening to Ricky Gervais on my ipod!Take home thought? “With a little help from my friends…”